It's almost as if he's making an effort to get into the Halloween spirit. Overnight, one of the lobsters at Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium has turned a ghostly pale.

Around eight months ago, fishermen donated the crustacean to the aquarium and now he has moulted to reveal a spooky new appearance.

Despite its bizarre colouration, the lobster, which is also missing a claw, appears to be in good condition and is set to join crawfish, dogfish and mullet in one of the aquarium's native marine displays.

Jenni Smith, spokesman for the attraction, said: "It's certainly not an albino lobster and, although it was a paler than normal, it wasn't until it moulted that we really saw it in its true colours.

"Although it probably wouldn't do it many favours out in the wild, the lobster's shell really makes it stand out in its new display and it's safe from the unwanted attentions of any would-be predators."

She added: "It's particularly timely to have such a ghostly new addition to the aquarium in the run-up to Halloween and it will join our other spooky residents including our shoal of ghost cardinals and giant batfish in the main ocean display."

Lobsters are among the planet's oldest inhabitants, with fossil remains found which date back more than 100 million years. They are also extremely long-lived creatures, with some individuals living for more than half a century. As they mature, lobsters have to moult their hard outer skeleton. Most species moult an average of four or five times a year until fully grown.